Septic tank



2 Sheets-Sheet 1 J.' P. THURELL SEPTIC TANK Filedy Match 23, 1927 Dec. 11, 1928. 1,695,217

. J. P. THURELL sEPTI TANK anota,

Patented Dec. 11, 1928.

UNITED STATES JOHN l. THURELL, OF FORT MYERS, FLORIDA.

SEPTIC TANK.

Application filed March 23, 1927. Serial No. 177,781.

This invention relates to septic tanks, and ,he objects oil the same are as follows 1- To facilitate the installation oi" the tank, particularly where it has te be located in loose sand, quick sand or water, by providing a bottom structure of such character as to permit practical placement thereof in operative position; to provide for retention in solution and practical dissolving of the chemical constituents and solid matter of the eftluvia prior to discharge thereof to conduit means and seepage thereof by the deposit on the ground to produce a free discharge flow and material reduction to tendency of sliming of the groundV where seepage .takes place through the action of a surplus of undissolved chemicals; to materially add to the effectiveness of the'dissolving operation of the more resistful chemicals by the addition of rain water to the tank, by connecting a rain water conf duit thereto and thus increasing the liquid Content of the tank and taking advantage of the natural ammoniacal and other chemical constituency of rain water to effectively dissolveor, to at least reduce to an immaterial minimum crystallization ot these chemicals relative to the seepage ground on which the discharged liquids are deposited, and to generally improve septic tank structures and render them more efficient in operation, strong and durable and convenient and expeditious in installation.

TWith these and other objects and advantages in view, the invention consists in the construction and arrangement of parts which will be more fully hereinafter described and claimed.

In the drawings f Figure 1 is a longitudinal vertical section ot' the improved septic tank and conduit sections associated therewith.

Figure 2 is a top plan view of the tank and sections with the cover oit' the tank removed. Y

Figure 3 a transverse vertical section on the line -Figui-e 1 looking towards the front end ot the tank. v

Figure l is a transverse vertical section on the lineA 3 3, Figure 1 looking towards the rear end of the tank. t

Figure 5 is a transverse vertical section on the line 5 5, Figure 1.

Figure 6 is an enlarged top plan view of the tank with the cover applied thereto.

The improved septic tank and the separable discharge or distributing members that may be associated therewith or in part permanently secured thereto, may be of any contour, material or combination of materials adapted for the purpose, andffurthermore, under certain installations, a number of the improved tanks may be connected andarh ranged in tandem, and the preferred construction hereinatter particularly described in detail may be modilied in its general dimensions and proportions, materials used in its construction and details, fully within the scope oi" the appended claims, to accommodate the improved tank organization to various contingencies or particular installations required in accordance with the nature of the building wit-h which it is associated as an effective means oftaking care or raw sewage passing thereinto.

.Tn the preferred form `of septic tank as shown inthe accompanying drawings, the" numeral 5i gen-erally refers to the tank which is ot rectangular form and has a rearwardly extendingv distributor 6 formed as a part thereof, and also separable distributors 7, the` distributors all being of substantially the same structure and the number used depending upon the nature of the place of deposit to which the discharge is made.

The tank 5, as shown, has an openingS through the bottom in which is removably fitted a bottom closure or cover 9 practically secured in position when the tank is duly installed to avoid leakage at the joints formed between the edges of this bottom cover at the walls of the opening 8. As clearly shown by Fig. 1 the bottom cover 9 has an extended reduced flange 10 at the front end and opposite sides to lit over the bottom of the tank which is reduced in thickness, as at 11, the rear end of the said bottom cover having a materially shorter flange 19. and an upwardly and forwardly inclined or beveled edge 13. The bottom cover has a post 14 rising therefrom and extending up to the bottom of a top ycover 15, this top cover being provided with ino'vably mounted grips or handles 16, normally held in recesses 17 opening upwardly through the upper surface of thecover 15, and whereby the latter may be easily manipulated in removing or applying the same. The post 14 has an opening 18 in its upper end for application thereto of a suitable hook means or other implement to assist in' raisin@r or removing the bottom cover, or in applying the same, as shown by Figure 1. At

its lront end the tank 5 has a raw sewage pipe i9 communicating therewith, the said 1 pipe being located near the upper edge the tank, and a side Water pipe also cornmunicating with the rear portion ot theitank .n opening 2l. tor the purpose oit Y, '.h Water into the tank, praten ably rain water, it being understood that the said pipe 9.0 will be supplied with a suitable valve structure and other attachments Well known in connection with inlet pipes, the pipe 2O in 'its essential :function sin'iply termino an inlet tor 'fresh Water into the tank, preterably at the rear of trie said tank, for assistingr in the operation of' the tank. The size and du i cate torni oi said pipe is non-essential, as the object in view is to provide a fresh water supply ineans for the tank. The openingr 2l is agout on a level with the opening through the iront end ot the tank for the rar,r serrage pipe l5), so that there inay be a unitorin lerel ot inlet at both points, and at the rear end of the tanlr is an upper discharge opening which has its bottoni slightly above the levels oil the open-ings for the raW pipe 19 and the openingl 2l for the pipe 20. rlhe opening` 22 in the present in` stance extends across the rear end of the tank, or is of substantially rectangular forni, as clearly shown by llig. This discharge openi Q2, however, i'nay be inoditied at Will as to its contour and extent, but for all practical purposes the torni and extent thereof just specified is preferred.

The tank is' partially divided into two compartments by ai depending partition 23, which secured to the underside oi' the top cover 15 and is normally located clos-e to and in rea-r of the position of the post 1d, as shown by Fig. l, the said partition 23 having an upper central opening 2l, as incre clearly shown by 3. Through the medium of the partition 23 a iront compartment is formed in advance thereof, and which may be te nied the receiving compartment, and is separated at its upper portion from the rear, or what may be termed the discharging coinpartinent, so that the heavy matter of the e'lluw'a will not directly pass out troni the tank ae'liore ellective dissolving, and solution ot the saine has been accomplished in the tank. ln the rear extremity ot' the tank a discharge trough 25 termed by an upward ly `and torwa l inclined Wall 2G extendingr from the bottom of the tank at the front limit or rear Wall Vof the opening 8. The wall 2G extends upwardly into the rear portion ot" the tank and forms the rear limit of the discharge trough, the upper end of said Wall terininating aslight distance above the loafer portion of the discharge opening Q2, though it will be understood that this specilie dimension of the Wall 26 may e slightly changed without in the least affecting the invention, and involves merely an iininate 'ir-Jl tlirougirliuits inclination does not in the least intertere saith the Withdrawal troni or application ot the cover 9 to the tank, it only boire' ccessary to .slightly tilt the Jliront eX- trem of the said bottoni cover upwardly in rinnovi, or applying,l the sarne relatively to the tz stantially similar y on, the distributor 6 being i 'ly .nodilied in vienT ofthe structure oit stributor 7, but each of the. latter is aplicate ol" the other. The distributor G i a central partitional rib 28 and at its torna-rd erztreini is reduced by an upper recess 29, this forward reduced extremity eX- tending,- longitudinally through the upper central part or the trough Q5 and having a. notch El() at its :l'orivard end to lit over the upper end ot the Wall 2G. rEhe upper recess 29 tornis rear for the reception of the topA cover l5, as clearly shown by Fig. l. Each distributor is orined with depending sid-cs 3l, as indicated by dotted lines in Fig. il, and extendingf across the bottoni of the rear end of the distributor G is a brace 32 which serves also as a dani and assists to effect an even distribution ot thel Water and dissolved cillin/'ia or other material passing ugh the distributor Atrono the tank 5.` The disributor G, as liereinbetore described eX- tends rearwardly beyond the rear end of the tank 5 and the lower or bottom partition there-ot is supported by a rearwardly projeeting horizontal ledge 33 formed as a part r secured to the rear Wall of the tank. Each distributor 7 is likewise formed with a central partitional rib Sil and depending,1 sides 35 to which is secured a lower cross brace 36 substantially sinlilar to the corresponding' parts ot the distributor 6. ln addition, each distributor has a forwardly projecting lower assembling batten 37 which extends transversely across the distributor and has about one hallI of the saine 'lirnily scoured to the partitional rib be; and sides 35 and the remaining; port-ion projacting loi-wardly to snugly and closely lit .against the undersides ol the cross braces 32 and Where a number of the distributors 7 may be employed. The cross batten 3T provides means for assembling the distributors in close conterininal relation and also as a supporting ineans for properly placing the' distributors on the ground suriace. The First cross batteri 327 disposes the top surfaceot the lirst distributor 7 a little lower than the sirnilar surface oiE the distributor C, and the third distributor 7 is likewise lowered through the saine means with respectto the distributor T with which it is lill) senibled, and so on through the whole series of the said distributors 7 when the latter' are continued to a gi'eater number than those shown. However, the lowering of the said distributor 7 does not interfere with the free flow or passage ofy liquid and dissolved efiluvia through the distributors, all the distributors having open bottoms, being practically boxes with open bottoms. Insome installations it may be only necessary to use the distributor G, and in others the addition of a single distributor 7, and in a still further application a second distributor 7 maybe used, depending upon the character of the ground surface and the area to be covered by the distributors for the purposel of deposit and seepage. In sandy soil a lessnuinber of the distributors will be used, and in some instances only .the single distributor 6 secured to and projecting from the rear of the tank 5 will be necessary. f In the operation of the improved septi tank the sewage passing through the pipe 19 into the tank is subjected to a dissolving action, so that all the sewage will be practically liquefied before discharge takes place from the tank and deposit thereof on the ground. The sewage entering the first compartment of the tank will be caused to flo-w down under the lower end of the baiiie 23 into the second compartment of the tank, the opening 24 of the baffle 23 acting as a pressure equalizer and relief. During the time that the sewage is in the tank before entering the trough 25, and depending on the action of the anaerobic bacteria, the fio-ating solids will be practically dissolved or converted into substantially liquid form, and if there still remains any undissolved solids they Will enter the trough 25 with the liquid and by the admission, preferably of rain water through the opening 2l into thev said trough, they will be liquefied, the undissolved solids being retained in the trough 25 until liquefaction ensues. Itis well understood that rain water is particularly vdesirableas distinguished fiom ordinary main or other fresh water, due tothe pure condition of rain water and its greater solvent action relatively to the precipitates ,held in suspension and consisting essentially of lime, magnesium and also sulphates and carbonates, etc., and which are only slightly soluble in water taken from other sources and distinguished from rain water. Ordinarily these insoluble materials are filtered out by the earth and it finally becomes necessary to change the location of the distributor elements when using other types of tanks. However, by the use of rain water this disadvantage is very inaterially eliminated in view of the fact that precipitates held in suspension are practically dissolved by the rainwater While retained in the tank 5 andwhen the liquid is discharged through the rear opening 22 of vthe said tank by the way Vof the distributor to the'strengthening vcharacteristics of said Y v ribs. f

The removable bottom of the tank is anadvantageous feature `when installing 'the complete apparatus particularly in sandy ground or very soft ground constituents may be removed from the interior lof the tank, or pit formed thereby by first removing the top cover l5 and the bottom cover 9-and under which operation the sides of the tank provide brace means for the excavation.

A yfurther advantage of the improved septic tank construction is its compactness and facility with which it can be installed in operative position with certainty in placement of the several parts thereof for practical operation.

What is claimed as new is l. A septicdevice of the class specified, comprising a tank with a removable bottom and top, and rear discharge means with an open bottom for carrying away the contents of the tank.

2. septic device of the class specified, comprising a tank having a vertical baffle depending thereinto and forming a partial partition located at the upper part of the tank,` and rear longitudinal means with yanropen botiom for discharging the contents of the tan 3. A septic device of the class specified, j

form with an open bottom, and a central lonj f r gitudinally extending iib. Y

5. A septic device of the class specified, comprising a tank having a discharge means including a distributor projecting rearwardly therefrom of box-like form having an open bottom, andY a cross-brace secured to the rear bottom portion of said distributor.

6. A septic device of the class specified, comprising a tank having a rear discharge means including a distributor of box-like form with an open bottom and having a central longitudinal rib therein, and a crossbrace secured to the rear bottom position of said distributor.

7. A septic device of the class specified,

Comprising a tank having a rear end dis- Charge means of box-like forni with an open bottom, a cross-brace secured to the rear bottom portion of said distributor, anauxiliary distributor of similar structure having a cross-cleat secured against the front bottoni portion thereofA and partially projecting to bear against the underside of the cross-brace.

8. A. septic device of the class specified, comprising; a tank having a sewage entrance nieans at the front end near the top of said tank and 'a rear discharge means with an, open bottom, connected to the top portion of the tank, and baille means dividing the upper portion of the trough adjacent to said rear dis-charge means and. having a central openingr therethrough.

9; A septic device of the Class specified, comprising.f tankhaving a sewage entrance means at the front end near the top of said tank and a rear discharge means located at the top portion of the tank, and side conduit means connected to the rear portion of the tank for admitting fresh Water thereto, pret'- erably rain Water, the inlet of said conduit means being on a ievel with the entrance ineansfor. the sewage at the front ofthe tank.

10. A septic device of the class specified, comprising` a tank having; a removable bottoni with `an npwardiy projecting post formed with a transverse top opening, a removable cover, a sewage conveying' and entrance lneans at the front end near the top of said tank and arear discharge means located above the said entrance means', battle means depending' from the removable cover into the tank and liaviin;4 an opening therethrong/ir, a trough at the rear part of the tank adjacent to the said discharge nieans, and distributor means applied to therear end oi the tank to receive the contents of the latter and deposit the saine on the ground surface In testimony whereof I have: hereunto set my hand. f l

l' JOHN P. THURELL. 

